The jury were told that this did not sit well with the accused who had recently begun drinking again after abstaining for the summer.

The court heard that out of the Kierans' four children, three have moved to Australia along with six of their 10 grandchildren.

In his testimony last week Oliver Kierans described a "fixation" Patricia had that he was having an affair.

When questioned about shortening the barrels of a shotgun by defending counsel Anthony Sammon, the accused said that the reason he did that was because his only child who had remained in Ireland was moving to Australia.

When asked by prosecuting counsel Michael O'Higgins if he had been jealous by the thought of Patricia with someone else, he replied "no".

"They were all gone and I just wanted to end my life," said Oliver Kierans.

On September 5 2013 the court heard that Mr and Mrs Kierans had gone to the family home together.

Gunned down: Patricia Kierans’ body is taken from her home in the Drumbannon area (Image: Irish Mirror)

The accused told gardai in interviews that he brought his wife to a second floor bedroom to show her he was going to "do away" with himself.

During his testimony, Mr Kierans described how he lifted the gun and "the yoke hit the top of my hand".

The court heard that Patricia Kierans was shot with a shotgun at quite close range sustaining a very serious wound to her chest from which she died.

Garda Adrian O' Hanlon of Virginia Garda Station gave evidence that he was directed to go to the Kierans family home where he found the body of Patricia Kierans in a bedroom with a cot and dolls in it.

Garda O'Hanlon confirmed that his colleague had checked for a pulse and that there was none present.

It is the State's case that afterwards, Oliver Kierans went to The Square bar in Bailieborough where a "siege" took place and he was found by gardai with a sawn off shot gun.

Trial: Oliver Kierans will be sentenced on March 26 (Image: Irish Mirror)

Throughout the two and a half week trial, the jury were shown CCTV footage in which a man identified as Oliver Kierans is seen pointing a double barrel shotgun at a man identified as local guard, Tommy Fay.

In separate CCTV footage from the morning of September 5, a man identified by gardai as Oliver Kierans was seen by the jury, entering Clarkes shop in Bailieborough to purchase two naggins of whiskey.

State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy gave evidence that the cause of death was a shotgun injury to the chest.

She said there was a 4.5 centimetre irregular hole on the upper front part of the body and that there were 500 millilitres of blood in the chest cavity.

She added that there were entry and exit wounds to the sac of the heart and that otherwise, the heart had been healthy.

Professor Cassidy concluded that the cause of death was a shotgun injury to the chest which could have been shot from a distance of 1.2 metres or 4 feet and that the injuries were of such severity that death would have been almost immediate.

Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly excused the jury from service for a period of ten years.

Ms Justice Donnelly remanded Oliver Kierans in custody for sentencing on March 26.